Is it possible to play Red Dead Redemption 2 on Mac?
If you want to delve into an open-world of wild west gaming, then Red Dead Redemption and its 2nd chapter might be the right action-adventure videogame to play. As the story begins, players will be taking the role of Arthur Morgan, a wanted bandit forced to run from the federal hunt and notable bounty hunters across entire America with his Van der Linde gang. To survive during this challenging adventure, characters will have to recall the past of their criminal lives and sweep through the heart of America with resounding thefts, shooting, and robbery missions as well. The spirit of western life will put RDR2 players into a lot of missions and dialogues with the main and side characters encountered during the journey. Lots of gaming content along with exciting storyline twists will by far keep you entrenched into your gaming seat during the whole play. Upon completing the campaign, people can also convert their free time into participation with other players in the multiplayer world. Go through similar missions, participate in horse runs, and other fun activities to keep you entertained while playing with friends or mad strangers. Red Dead Redemption 2 is a multi-award-winning videogame available to play on Microsoft Windows, Playstation, and Xbox series. It’s a shame there is no macOS around this list because lots of Apple owners would like to play it as well. We are here to change it and help you launch Red Dead Redemption 2 and other video games on Mac regardless of the official incompatibility.
Play Red Dead Redemption 2 on Mac with Parallels
Red Dead Redemption 2 game requires lots of PC resources, but if you have a powerful Mac computer (iMac, iMac Pro, or Mac Pro) Parallels Desktop can be a solution. This is software for Windows virtualization on Mac with the full support of DirectX and GPUs. It allows you to install Windows 10 on Mac with a couple of clicks and switch between MacOS and Windows instantly. You can run Windows just like on a regular PC, install Steam and enjoy the Red Dead Redemption 2 game on Mac.
Note: Recommended devices to run resource-demanding games: MacBook Pro (models with Intel processor, discrete graphics cards, and 16 Gb of RAM or more), iMac (models with Intel processor, discrete graphics cards, and 16 Gb of RAM or more), iMac Pro (all versions are suitable), Mac Pro (all versions are suitable). Parallels on Mac computers with M1 (M1 Pro, M1 Max) chips may not support recent games. Games that require DirectX 12 and later currently not supported by Parallels.
Play Red Dead Redemption 2 on Mac with cloud gaming services
Update: Boosteroid fully supports Red Dead Redemption 2! Play the advanced game on an old Windows PC, Mac and Android!
If you have an old Mac or it cannot satisfy Red Dead Redemption 2 game system requirements, there is an easy solution. Cloud gaming provides you with sufficient cloud resources for a fixed fee. All you need is a small client program and a good internet connection starting from 15 Mbits/s. There are several great services, that provide such an opportunity, among the best are Boosteroid, AirGPU, and Nvidia GeForce Now. Both services have Red Dead Redemption 2 in their game catalog, and you can play on any Mac computer (starting from MacOS 10.10) and even Android!
Play Red Dead Redemption 2 on Mac with BootCamp
Note: Mac computers with new Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3 Pro, or M1, M2, M3 Max) currently do not support BootCamp. In this case, please, use the options above to run Red Dead Redemption 2 on Mac
This method is simple but time-consuming. If your Mac meets all system requirements above, this is probably the best way to play Red Dead Redemption 2 for now. You need to set up a dual boot of Windows and Mac via BootCamp. BootCamp allows users to choose the system to work in on startup, however, you won’t be able to switch between systems like in Parallels. You will need to reboot your machine every time you switch from Mac to Windows and vice versa. Remember that Mac is just a computer, that uses common processors, RAM, disks, and other components. So you can install Windows on Mac by allocating disc space of a minimum of 64 Gb (to be able to run Windows and a couple of games). To set up Windows via BootCamp, please, do the following:
For OS X El Capitan 10.11 or later
Mention, that for MacOS versions prior to OS X El Capitan 10.11 you will need to create bootable Windows USB.
- Download Windows ISO file
- Open Boot Camp Assistant (Go to Applications > Utilities)
- Define the Windows partition size, choose downloaded Windows ISO file
- Format Windows partition and go through all Windows installation steps
- When Windows boots for the first time, follow on-screen instructions to install Boot Camp and Windows support software (drivers)